Albums of 2009 Part I

And so, out with the old and in with the new. 2009 was a year in which there were a lot of good records but scarcely one which peered its head above the parapet of greatness. There were several records released this year which, on occasion, left me in awe but none seemed to last the distance and it's unlikely any release from 2009 will bother me as I contemplate my favourite records of the first decade of this century.
That the ubiquity of the internet enables bands and their records to reach a tipping point which may otherwise have been beyond them can be seen as a good thing, but it also means that far too often there's just not enough substance to sustain the hype. Everyone is a sucker for this. Take Dead Man's Bones for instance. Initial skepticism of yet another fucking actor turned musician was quietened upon the release of two gloomy yet eerily atmospheric videos from their upcoming album. Much was expected but the band utterly failed to deliver as the album sagged under that weight of expectation as much as its own utter lack of direction. But for me, this wasn't the story of 2009. That began much earlier, in January, upon the release of Animal Collective's 'Merriweather Post Pavilion' and the ensuing deluge of fanaticism which consumed 2009 whole before it had even begun. No, this record won't cure cancer, it won't negotitate a settlement at the climate change talks in Copenhagen, hell, it won't even change your fucking life. Knee deep in hype from the get-go, it was a record that - its opening two tracks apart - sloshed around in its own amniotic goo of self-importance. Perhaps I'm just not taking the right drugs.
Anyway, should you care, there will follow over the ensuing days a list of records which sounded the best to me this year. I'm more than aware that there are a plethora of these lists at this time of year and that I'm adding to that but this is what made me happy in 2009.

20 The BQE - Sufjan Stevens
19 God Help the Girl - God Help the Girl
18 Around The Well - Iron and Wine
17 Dead Man's Bones - Dead Man's Bones
16 Through The Devil Softly - Hope Sandoval & the Warm Inventions
15 Truelove's Gutter - Richard Hawley
14 The Glass Bead Game - James Blackshaw
13 Embryonic - The Flaming Lips
12 The First Days of Spring - Noah & the Whale
11 xx - The xx